Starfield, the expansive single-player RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, captivated gamers worldwide with its promises of interstellar exploration and unparalleled adventure. But what do you do if you're itching for more epic space sagas? We've got you covered! Here are the top 5 games that offer alternative experiences to Starfield, with their unique narratives, intricate gameplay, and visually stunning settings. Each game mentioned here delivers a zeal comparable to Starfield and will undoubtedly feed your hunger for a spectacular space odyssey.
1. Elite Dangerous
When it comes to comprehensive space-simulation games, few can compete with Elite Dangerous. Trading, exploration, combat, and mining are blended seamlessly in this deeply immersive game.
Gameplay
Elite Dangerous has an extremely realistic combat system, meaning each battle matters, and every decision counts. You start with an uncustomized spaceship and a small amount of money. It's up to you to decide whether to become a miner, hauler, bounty hunter, pirate, explorer, or a combination of these roles. This game also offers a multiplayer mode, allowing you to form groups and alliances.
Story and Setting
The game is set in a 1:1 scale open-world galaxy based on the real Milky Way, with an evolving narrative that creates a rich background for player-driven events. Elite Dangerous provides unrivaled freedom when it comes to exploration and storytelling.
2. No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky is an action-adventure survival game that offers an infinite exploration of a procedurally generated universe filled with unique planets, life forms, and constant danger.
Gameplay
The game allows you to fly freely across space and land on any planet you come across. You can gather resources, trade, fight, and survive in this boundless, colorful universe. A revamped multiplayer experience allows players to team up, explore, build, and survive together while experiencing the game's rich lore.
Story and Setting
No Man's Sky offers an intriguing narrative of survival and exploration with the ultimate goal of reaching the center of the universe. Each planet has unique flora and fauna, and the dynamic weather system adds another layer of immersion.
3. Mass Effect Series
The Mass Effect series is a critically-acclaimed space opera RPG that offers breathtaking narratives, complex decision-making, and a deep character development system.
Gameplay
Players are put in the role of Commander Shepard, a human soldier who must unite the races of the galaxy to defeat an imminent threat. Choices made throughout the game have a significant impact on the story's outcome, adding a brilliant sense of weight and consequence to the decisions made.
Story and Setting
Set in a vast and diverse universe filled with a variety of alien species, each with its own unique culture and history, the Mass Effect universe is rich and comprehensive. Its engaging storyline that spans across the series intertwines personal character arcs with an epic cosmic showdown.
4. Eve Online
Eve Online is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) offering a limitless universe where you engage in combat, exploration, trade, and politics with thousands of other players.
Gameplay
The game is renowned for its player-driven economy and intricate politics. With over 5000 star systems to explore, you can mine, trade, or engage in warfare with other players, with every action having an impact on the game's universe.
Story and Setting
While the game does not provide a traditional narrative, it offers an incredible sandbox universe where players often make their own stories, political alliances, and wars. The rich lore and player-created narratives have given life to Eve Online's universe.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is an action-adventure game that offers a compelling Star Wars journey full of intense lightsaber combats, force powers, and familiar cosmic settings.
Gameplay
Fallen Order blends combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving, with players assuming the role of a Jedi Padawan who narrowly escapes the purge of Order 66. Increased focus on lightsaber combat and the use of force powers provide an immersive Star Wars experience.
Story and Setting
The game takes place in the beloved Star Wars galaxy and contributes its own unique narrative to the wider Star Wars mythos. The journey of growth, redemption, and struggle against the dark side keeps players captivated till the very end.
With these five space-themed games, your next big galactic adventure is just a click away. Each one allows players to experience different aspects of interstellar exploration, providing varying styles of gameplay and narratives that continue to fascinate gamers around the globe. Regardless of the path you choose, these remarkable Starfield alternatives are guaranteed to take you on an unforgettable journey across the cosmos. Let your space odyssey begin!